


Face to face

by MiriRainbowitz



Series: those were our wives (who decided to fuck) [12]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:13:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6498613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriRainbowitz/pseuds/MiriRainbowitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a little playground near the shelter that Maria likes to take Susan to. </p><p>Unfortunately for Maria, it's also frequented by the Hamiltons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Face to face

**Author's Note:**

> Susan is like 3. I have absolutely no idea how 3-year-olds work.
> 
> This fic is set about a year after the affair goes public.

There’s a nice little public playground near the shelter Maria and Susan are staying at, and Maria likes to take Susan there when time and weather allow it. She’s there one Sunday, keeping an eye on Susan as she plays in the sandbox, when she hears a familiar voice.

She turns to look, and a shiver of excitement and dread and and nervousness flows over her. Eliza is entering the playground, holding an infant – John, if Maria remembers correctly – in her arms, followed by another four kids and Alexander Hamilton.

Maria can’t move – she’s petrified that if she does, she’ll catch the attention of the Hamiltons, and she doesn’t want to face Eliza and she _definitely_ doesn’t want to face Alexander Hamilton. She can feel a cold terror wash through her – she can’t let herself be seen, she can’t, she can’t, she can’t –

She clenches her hands into fists, and the sensation of her nails digging into her palms grounds her. She _can_ face Eliza, she’s done it before, and Alexander Hamilton can’t hit her here, it’s a public playground. She’ll be fine. 

She looks over to Susan, who’s still playing in the sandbox, and debates getting her and leaving. Today’s the first day Maria could take Susan here in weeks, and Susan obviously isn’t ready to go back to the shelter yet, but the longer they stay here, the greater the chances that she’d be spotted. In the end, she decides to sit still and hope no one notices her. At least she’s not wearing an attention-grabbing outfit today.

She’s undisturbed for probably half an hour before someone sits down on the bench next to her. Maria turns and finds herself looking at Alexander Hamilton.

“So you’re Maria Reynolds,” he says, his voice eerily calm.

“Lewis. Not Reynolds anymore,” Maria says, before realizing she’d just _talked back_ to Alexander Hamilton – the notoriously belligerent husband of the woman she’d had an affair with. She can’t help the wave of fear that washes through her.

Alexander turns and looks at her face, and some of her fear must be showing, because his expression softens ever so slightly. “Why are you here, Maria Lewis?” 

“My- my daughter. Susan,” Maria stutters out. “She likes it here, and – it’s close to the shelter.”

“Eliza was worried about you,” he says. “How you were doing. She’ll probably be glad to hear you’re in a shelter.” Maria can feel her heart soar at his words, before he says, “So how long have you been in love with her?”

Maria starts. “I – I’m not –” she protests, but Alexander is shaking his head, a rueful smile on his face.

“I mentioned her name, and your face lit up the way mine used to,” he says. “I’m not stupid, Maria Lewis.”

“I – I’m not sure,” Maria eventually says. “I – months, probably, at this point. I’m not – I’ve never told her,” she rushes out. “I haven’t told – anyone.”

“I can’t say I blame you,” Alexander replies. “I’m not saying I _like_ it, but I can understand why you’re in love with her. I mean, she’s _Eliza_. It’s hard to not fall in love with her.”

“Are you – are you going to –” Maria sighs. “You could probably ruin my life, if you wanted to.”

“I probably could,” he replies. “But I probably won’t. You’re – what, 22?”

“I’m almost 24,” Maria says. 

“And that’s why I won’t,” Alexander replies. “You’re young, you’ve got a young daughter, and you’ve just gotten out of a long, abusive relationship. Even someone like Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t be cruel enough to try to ruin your life for what you did. And – I think you’ve got courage. It takes a lot of strength to leave an abusive relationship.”

A weight Maria didn’t even realize she’d been carrying lifted off her shoulders. Ever since she’d moved into the shelter, she’d been on shaky ground, trying to figure out how to move on and reestablish her life. It was a huge relief to know that Alexander Hamilton, at least, wouldn’t cause her any setbacks. 

“Thank you,” she says. She wants to say more, but then she spots Susan coming over. 

“I hungry, Mama,” she says, and Maria smiles as she picks her up. “Do you want to go home, baby?”

Susan catches sight of Alexander and nods, shy in the face of this stranger. “You must be Susan,” he says. “Your mom was talking about you.”

Susan tucks her face into Maria’s shoulder, and Maria says apologetically, “She’s shy around strangers.”

“Angie was too. She’ll probably outgrow it soon,” he replies. “You should probably get her back.”

Maria only nods and gets up. A hand on her arm stops her before she can leave. 

“I know how hard it is to be a single mother,” Alexander says. “If you want to talk, here’s my email.” He hands her a little card, which Maria tucks into her jeans. 

Maria can’t quite wrap her head around what just happened, so she nods and hurries away. She and Susan could use a nice, hot bubble bath tonight – Susan because she’s kind of dirty, and Maria because that’s probably the only way she’ll be able to relax enough to figure out what the hell she’s going to do next.


End file.
